Cardinal Keith O'Brien and Sexual Sin
Cardinal Keith O'Brien was the highest ranking Roman Catholic dignitary in the UK. O'Brien was named bigot of the year due to his opposition to Gay marriage gay adoption and his generally anti-gay position. Since the worthy cardinal opposes Homosexuality so strongly did he act consistently and avoid gay behaviour himself? Accusations Four priests have accused O'Brien of inappropriate behaviour and inappropriate contact. The other men involved were over the legal age of consent but O'Brien allegedly abused his position of authority over them making it hard for them to refuse his advances. Two of the accusers claim lasting psychological harm, one that he needed long term counseling. These four separate accusations have as of late February 2013 not been proved or disproved conclusively but lead the Cardinal to resign after pressure from the Pope. UK's top cardinal accused of 'inappropriate acts' by priestsTop British Cardinal Faces Accusations of Committing ‘Inappropriate Acts’newswell|text|Frontpage|s Britain's Cardinal Keith O'Brien to resign Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as ArchbishopCardinal Keith O'Brien departs with an apology but no admission as Pope forces him out over allegations of inappropriate behaviour Keith O'Brien was a friend of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile, Jimmy Savile Jimmy Savile and the Cardinal: Britain's top Catholic cleric was friend of disgraced TV host but as of 26th Feb 2013 accusations against the cardinal are limited to allegations that he took advantage of much younger adult priests and one student priest. But wait for the next thrilling installment. Is O'Brien guilty? How likely is it that four men colluded to fabricate stories against the Cardinal? We can't tell though one suggestion is as ominous as the accusations. A source within the Catholic Church also said the cardinal "doesn't know who his accusers are and doesn't know what they're accusing him of". Cardinal Keith O'Brien 'very upset' about his resignation What's happened to Natural justice? In UK law (1) Audi alteram partem (Latin for, hear the other side): no accused, or a person directly affected by a decision, shall be condemned unless given full chance to prepare and submit his or her case and rebuttal to the opposing party's arguments;natural justice And high ranking Roman Catholic dignitaries worldwide can understand that because it's also written in Latin. The Vatican is considering what to do and Pope considering response to alleged 'inappropriate acts' by UK cardinal and the man subject to these proceedings doesn't know enough to mount an effective defence. Papal powers include ordering accused priests to retire to monasteries, for a man who doesn’t want to become a monk or who can’t adjust to monastic life that amounts to an indefinite prison sentence. It’s unlikely this will happen to O'Brien but other priests have been ordered in this way. The arbitrary power the church can exercise over priests up to the rank of cardinal is at least as ominous as the unspecified allegations made against O'Brien. Sexual hypocrisy Sexual hypocrisy is in no way limited to American Protestant WASP's and neither is injustice. See also *Celibacy *Priest Child Molestation Scandal *Priests References and footnotes Category:Roman Catholic Church Category:Sexual hypocrisy Category:Not Sexy